Tagged: future

A researcher in US has begun experiments to study human’s ability to detect the Earth’s magnetic fields. Geophysicist Joe Kirschvink from the California Institute of Technology based his hypothesis on how birds, insects, and some mammals seem to be able to use this sense to migrate and orient themselves with the world around them. Although Kirschvink has so far only presented the results of a very small trial involving 24 participants, he says that he has not only been able to identify it in humans for the first time, but that his results can be repeated and verified. Some scientists believe that the...

As NASA promises to extend the science operations for its Hubble Space Telescope for an additional five years, tomorrow, they plan to not only provide a live stream of a major ground test at 10:05 a.m. EDT but will follow it up with a live media teleconference at 11 a.m. to discuss their initial assessment of the previous tests. NASA just confirmed a contract extension of $2.03 billion dollars, to cover the work necessary to continue the science program of the Hubble mission by the Space Telescope Science Institute until June 30th 2021. Hubble is expected to continue to provide valuable data...

The Russian federal government has just announced plans to invest 2.1 trillion dollars into a a two-year ‘National Technology Initiative’ and now scientists are preparing to introduce teleportation into our reality. In 2014, a Dutch group proved they could transfer the properties of one atom to another, teleporting’ the information over a distance of three meters, whilst other groups have used particles of light to transfer information over distances of over 62 miles, now Russian scientists hope to have developed the technology to transport humans by 2035. Alexander Galitsky, a prominent investor in the country’s technology sector said “It sounds fantastical...

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, may see his vision of launching nano-satellites into orbit by 2018 Sky and Space Global has announced signing a letter of intent with Virgin Galactic to use its vehicle LauncherOne to launch up to 200 nano-satellites into space within the next two years. Richard Branson, had previously committed to developing a commercial satellite-launching program, with LauncherOne, which launches from a Boeing 747, already in “advanced testing” and Sky and Space Global CEO Meir Moalem has said “Virgin Galactic is a truly global company with significant resources and support, and this agreement is the first step in what...

This weekend, for the first time is Canadian history, a 3 day conference is taking place in Brantford Ontario, that highlights an open public examination and investigation of the truth behind the UFO reality. A HEARING ON ET DISCLOSURE will not only be a comprehensive public examination of the reality of the UFO phenomenon but it will reveal how the former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of National Defence, The Hon. Paul Hellyer and six of the world’s foremost experts on unidentified flying objects plan to expose and bring to an end a decades-long governmental cover-up. The panel includes Winnipeg’s own...

NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has detected significant amounts of a silica mineral called tridymite on the surface of Mars and the discovery has scientists stunned. This surprising find may now force scientists to rethink the volcanic history of Mars, as this new evidence suggests that the planet may have in fact once had explosive volcanoes that led to the presence of the mineral. NASA planetary scientist at Johnson and lead author of the paper, Richard Morris explains “On Earth, tridymite is formed at high temperatures in an explosive process called silicic volcanism. Mount St. Helens, the active volcano in Washington State,...

For the first time ever, astronomers have discovered a vast cloud of high-energy particles called a wind nebula around a rare ultra-magnetic neutron star. A neutron star is the crushed core of a massive star that ran out of fuel, collapsed under its own weight, and exploded as a supernova, which are the strongest magnets in the universe. After reviewing the discovery of a newly found nebula which surrounds a magnetar known as Swift J1834.9-0846, a team researcher George Younes, a postdoctoral researcher at George Washington University in Washington found an unusual lopsided glow about 15 light-years across centered on the magnetar. ...

Alien hunters and astronomers alike are now turning to the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) located in California in the hope of detecting an artificial radio signal. Headed by members of the SETI Institute, astronomers will target a star system relatively close to Earth, specifically focusing on Trappist 1, a red dwarf-type star that hosts to at least 3 exoplanets. The ATA has been used to “listen in” on star systems that NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and other exoplanet-hunting missions have confirmed the presence of exoplanets, allowing Kepler to identify the size and orbit of each exoplanet. Astronomers can then determine if that planet is located in...

Next week, the University of Pennsylvania will seek approval for the first human trials of CRISPR, deploying the gene editing tool to treat certain types of cancer. CRISPR, shorthand for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a means of editing genomes with greater precision and efficiency than any other methods, by utilizing a naturally occurring bacterial defense mechanism that can be programmed to target specific segments of genetic code and edit the DNA. Though it holds major potential for preventing HIV infection, curing genetic diseases and even creating designer babies, the University of Pennsylvania believes it is ready to trial their CRISPR...

Since the discovery of Tabby’s star, late last year, potential explanations including comets, distortion, and space debris have been offered but with lack of scientific evidence, none have been confirmed. Now, a crowdfunding campaign has met its goal in raising over $100,000, which will be used to support a year-long study into KIC 8462852, analyzing the star’s luminosity with the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. Started by Yale astronomer Tabby Boyajian last month, the kickstarter was created in an attempt to get the answers to this mysterious “alien megastructure” and hope to identify if the star is engulfed by an artificial...

There were numerous sightings from around the world this weekend of what all witnesses are claiming were UFO’s, which confirms new beliefs that UFO sighting are on the increase. The first story comes to us from Peru, where a man uploaded to YouTube shows footage of members of a broadcast team, specializing in UFOs react to not one but two UFO’s appear and disappear in the immediate vicinity of each other. Moments later, they were able to see the UFO again, allowing for the opportunity to record it and capture greater details on the supposed craft, which apparently...

In a record-breaking first, NASA successfully created the largest fire set intentionally in space. The experiment was conducted aboard the uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft, a cargo vessel built by Virginia-based company Orbital ATK, which had departed from the International Space Station days earlier, after a nearly three-month stay at the orbiting lab. NASA officials ignited a piece of cotton-fiberglass cloth 1.3 feet wide by 3.3 feet long, during the first stage of the Spacecraft Fire Experiment, named Saffire-1. Before Saffire-1, the largest intentionally set fire in space had burned a sample just the size of an index card, NASA officials have said. Saffire-1 was the...

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, it’s imperative that you have a plan. If you’re influenced by the movies, then you might be inclined to take your chances and head for the nearest pub or shopping mall in order to outwit a growing horde of bloodthirsty zombies. Your average shopping mall is equipped with all […]

Nobody has ever put a lander on the far side of the Moon before, but China is well on its way to being the first. Over the weekend, the country launched a craft called Queqiao – a satellite that will orbit the Moon to relay messages from the yet-to-be-launched lander, Chang’e-4. The Moon is tidally […]

It only lasted for a savage, fleeting instant, but for 8 intense seconds last week an eagle, a fox, and a rabbit flew across the sky as one. In an incredibly rare scene, photographers have captured the moment a bald eagle swooped down upon a young red fox clutching a rabbit, and in its whirlwind […]

There is something special and awe-inspiring about watching new land form. This is what is now happening in Hawai’i as its Kīlauea volcano erupts. Lava is reaching the ocean and building land while producing spectacular plumes of steam. These eruptions are hugely important for the creation of new land. But they are also dangerous. Where […]

Calling all citizen scientists! A project looking for those dying, exploding stars called supernovae out in deep space is also searching for volunteers to help in the work, and you can get real science credit for it along the way – even if you’ve never done a second of star-gazing before. Astronomers from the Australian National […]

When Jean-Lou Justine received the first photograph of a giant worm with a head like a shovel, the biologist was astounded. Hammerhead flatworms, which grow to a foot or more in length, do not belong in European vegetable gardens. “We do not have that in France,” said Justine, a professor at the National Museum of […]

Astronauts go through many physiological changes during their time in spaceflight, including lower muscle mass and slower muscle development. Similar symptoms can occur in the muscles of people on Earth’s surface, too. In fact, it could affect everyone to some extent later in life. “Age-related skeletal muscle disorders, such as sarcopenia, are becoming a greater […]

Exposure to early life trauma can lead to poor physical and mental health in some individuals, which can be passed on to their children. Studies in mice show that at least some of the effects of stress can be transmitted to offspring via environmentally-induced changes in sperm miRNA levels. A new epigenetics study raises the […]

Most renderings and reconstructions of pterodactyls and other extinct flying reptiles show a flight pose much like that of bats, which fly with their hind limbs splayed wide apart. But a new method for inferring how ancient animals might have moved their joints suggests that pterosaurs probably couldn’t strike that pose. “Most of the work […]

Corals growing in high-latitude reefs in Western Australia can regulate their internal chemistry to promote growth under cooler temperatures, according to new research at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at The University of Western Australia. The study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that ocean warming may […]